About the Fund

The Maybelle Clark Macdonald fund was created in 1970 by the late Maybelle Clark Macdonald and her husband, Fred Macdonald, with the mission: To relieve the misfortune and promote the well-being of mankind.

Projects funded over the years have ranged from feeding the homeless to acquiring state of the art medical equipment. The Fund partners with Oregon not-for-profits that have established long term commitments to the welfare of those they serve. We serve five core missions: Cultural Arts, Education, Human Services, Medical and Public Benefit. Human service is the core and thrust of the Fund. Among Fund recipients are universities, elementary and secondary schools, organizations supporting mentoring and youth development, arts organizations, organizations serving the needs of abused women and children, alcohol and drug rehabilitation facilities, medical institutions, and numerous agencies dedicated to feeding and housing the poor.

“Oregon is our community.”

Having and maintaining a relationship with an organization’s board is essential to our charge to support “the good works of Oregonians.” One of Maybelle’s most important legacies to the Fund is the precedent she set for making long-term commitments to leverage the support of community leaders for the on going benefit of the Fund’s recipients.

“We invest in the leadership necessary to sustain and grow important programs.”

Dennis Keenan, former executive director of Catholic Charities described Mrs. Macdonald as “a very gentle, humble and unassuming lady. She especially cared about people who are on the margins, people who are in desperate situations.” The Fund has demonstrated a special interest in children with grants to provide educational scholarship assistance; funding for youth arts emersion programs; summer job programs; mentoring initiatives; and grants to organizations supporting the needs of abused, neglected and handicapped youngsters.

The purpose behind all of our grants is to make society better by giving people a head start in improving their and others’ lives and by fostering community leadership.